Squeeze cap for dispensing liquids in drop units



B. CHOLET Oct. 15, 1963 SQUEEZE CAP FOR DISPENSING LIQUIDS IN DROP UNITSFiled Aug. 12, 1960 I I INVENTOR.

gerbwm hlei W may United States Patent D 3,107,035 SQUEEZE CAP FORDTSPENSING LIQUIDS 1N DROP UNITS Bertram Chalet, Hashrouck Heights,N.J., assignor t Bongherty Brothers, line Buena, N.J., a corporation ofNew Jersey Filed Aug. 12, 1960, Ser. No. 49,194 3 Claims. (Cl. 222-213)This invention relates to a self sealing squeeze cap for containers,having for its general object the provision of means for dispensingliquids in the form of drops.

More specifically regarded, it is an object of the invention to providea valved cap of the type described so constructed as to be openedresponsive to pulsatory squeezing of the cap to effect the controlledemission of drops.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a squeeze cap of thetype described, in which the discharge of drops is controlled, one dropfor each impulse imparted to the cap, so that the drops may beaccurately counted.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a squeeze capfor dispensing liquids in drop form, in which the volume of the drops isconstant.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a valved squeezecap as described, which closes under pressure when released, being thusadapted to retain in the container volatile components of the liquid,which may otherwise continually diminish the potency of the liquid.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following descriptionof a practical embodiment thereof proceeds.

in the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of the followingspecification, and throughout the several figures of which the samereference characters have been used to designate identical parts:

FIGURE 1 is a view in perspective of a valved squeeze cap embodying theprinciples of the invention, the inner and outer members being shownseparated along a longitudinal axis;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view in an axial plane of the valved squeeze capin operative association with a bottle, the squeeze cap being closed;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view complementary to FIG- U1- 2, showing thesqueeze cap in open position;

FIGURE 4 is a view in cross-section, taken along the line 44 of FIGURE2, looking upward;

FIGURE 5 is a detail view in section, disclosing on large scale theinterlocking anchorage of the inner with the outer member;

FlGURE 6 is a detail view in section on an enlarged scale, showing thenozzle end of the cap in closed position.

Referring now in detail to the several figures, the reference numeral 19designates the squeeze cap as a whole, which comprises fundamentally twoparts, the body member 11 and the valve member 12. Both members areordinarily of the same type of material, plastic, and specificallypolyethylene. However, the invention does not rule out the use of othermaterials, and the valve assembly in particular may be made of metal.

The body member includes a hard, that is to say, rigid, base portion 13internally threaded to screw on the mouth of a container which asillustrated is the bottle 14, and a flexible nozzle portion 15preferably integral therewith having an annular valve seat 16 at itsouter end. The valve member comprises a stem 17 which occupies an axialposition within the nozzle member and at its outer end has a sphericalvalve 18 which cooperates with the valve seat 15. The valve member3,1d7fi35 Patented Oct. 15, 1963 "ice is bifurcated at the lower endportion of the stem forming the outwardly bowed legs 19. The legsterminate in outwardly directed feet 20, having short upturned flanges21 at their ends. In the illustrative embodiment the valve member isintegrally molded from a strip of polyethylene, the stem being round incross-section and the legs and feet being flat strips, as shown, thelegs in their upper arc converging toward the stem. The valve member inrepose is self shape retaining.

The nozzle portion 15 comprises a circumferential wall.

forming a cylindrical chamber about the legs, and which tapers upwardlyabove the upper arc of the legs. Said nozzle portion is smaller indiameter than the base portion 13, so that it forms with the baseportion both an exterior and interior annular shoulder, the interiorshoulder 22 at diametrically opposite points being formed withtransverse channels 23 with upwardly directed end recesses,complementary to the flanged feet, which channels fit over the feet andunite the body and valve members. The bottoms of the feet are in acommon transverse plane and rest against a washer 24, which when thesqueeze cap is mounted upon the bottle, is clamped between the squeezecap and bottle mouth, anchoring the valve member in place. This featureis best shown in FIGURE 5. Exteriorly the nozzle member is formed withopposite facets 25, in vertical planes which register with the adjacentportions of the legs, indicating the points at which squeeze pressure isto be applied and affording pressure areas for the thumb and cooperatingfinger in the act of squeezing.

The relative axial lengths of the body member and valve member are suchthat when in repose position the valve is in closed position underpressure. The principle of operation is that when the bowed legs arepressed toward one another, they tend to straighten and become longer;therefore, they move the valve away from the valve seat. Although theopposite sides of the nozzle portion are correspondingly pressed towardone another, no elongation of the nozzle portion takes place, for theportions of the latter which lie circumferentially between the facets 25are not subject to squeezing, and consequently, hold the nozzle portionagainst elongation, the squeezing pressure of the fingers resulting inlocalized deformation or dimpling of the nozzle portion at the pressurepoints.

From the above description it is readily understandable that when thecap is squeezed, the valve rises from its seat, and when the cap isreleased the valve closes against its seat under pressure.

The spherical valve 18 and the outwardly flaring coaxial valve seatdefine a discharge orifice, the internal geometry of which is such thatthe drop automatically hangs between the wall of the orifice and thevalve by surface tension, until dislodged through displacement by asucceeding drop. Thus, by repetitive squeezing of the cap the number ofdrops dispensed may be precisely determined. The small amount of inwarddeformation imparted to the nozzle portion 15 by the act of squeezingplays a negligible part in expelling the drops. A liquid which isdesigned to be dispensed manually, drop by drop, will usually bepackaged in small bottles rarely exceeding three or four ounces incapacity. Such a bottle when inverted will have some air in itsuppermost portion and it is the head of liquid between the plane uppersurface of the body of liquid in the bottle and the end of the squeezecap that causes gravitational discharge of the liquid. The slightdisplacement caused by squeezing reacts throughout the body of liquidbut is so minor as to be disregarded as an assist to the discharge ofthe liquid, until the body of liquid becomes substantially depleted.

The squeeze cap may be built with different sized orifices for liquidshaving markedly different characteristics of viscosity, stickiness, etc.For a given liquid, the volume of the individual drops is substantiallyconstant. The ordinary glass tube dropper with squeeze bulb is lackingin these advantages, due to the uncertainty as to the quantity of liquiddrawn up into the tube, and as to the amount of air in the bulbavailable for explusion of the liquid, so that the drops may bedischarged in a squirt faster than they can be counted.

Also, the gauge of the glass tubing is variable, so that there is noprecision or uniformity in the volume of the drops produced insupposedly identical packages. It has been a constant complaint from themanufacturers of liquid medicaments, the dosage of which is by drops,that the presently employed dropping devices waste a great deal of themedicament, as well as making it impossible to administer accuratedoses.

Another advantage of the squeeze cap of the present invention is that itcloses under pressure resulting from the inherent resiliency of thevalve member, so that it is able to seal the container under somepressure, thus retaining volatile constituents of certain liquids,limiting the loss of the volatiles to that which may escape into thebottle, thus lengthening the shelf life of the liquid and its lifebetween uses when the package has passed to the consumer.

FIGURE 2 indicates the use of an additional cover cap 26 to protect thesqueeze cap in the vicinity of the orifice from dust, and to discouragethe drying of liquid with incident accumulation of residue, about thevalve. This auxiliary cap may be screwed to the squeeze cap to form anauxiliary seal, guarding against the loss of volatile constituents whichmight develop enough pressure in the bottle to lift the spherical valve.

It is in contemplation that the squeeze cap may be sold and distributedin the same package with the bottle or other container of liquid, butunattached thereto, the container being closed by an ordinary screw cap,and it being left to the consumer to substitute the squeeze cap. In suchcase, it may be of advantage to have the parts of the squeeze cap madeunitary. This may be done by cementing the feet 20 to the walls of thechannels 23 in which they fit, or cementing the washer against theinterior shoulder 23. The offsetting advantage of leaving the bodyportion, valve portion and washer 24 separate is that the squeeze capcan be readily disassembled for cleaning, by pulling the valve memberdownward, forcing the valve through the opening in the end of the bodyportion 11, which is sufliciently stretchable to permit this procedure.

While I have in the above description described and disclosed apractical embodiment of the inventive principle, it will be understoodby those skilled in the art that the specific details of constructionand arrangement of parts, as disclosed, are by way of example and not toimpose any limitations upon the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. Squeeze cap for dispensing liquids in drop by drop sequence from acontainer while the latter is so positioned as to maintain agravitational head of the contained liquid above the cap, the lattercomprising a base portion constructed to be coupled to the mouth of thecontainer, and a tubular nozzle portion integral therewith having aninwardly yieldable resilient side wall and provided with an opening inits outer end, a valve member Wholly carried by said cap including avalve positioned exteriorly of said opening, of larger size than saidopening so as normally to seat against said nozzle portion on theexterior rim of said opening, a valve stem extending through saidopening connected to said valve, and resilient legs debouching from theinner end of said valve stem, having spaced foot portions anchored insaid base and haviug intermediate salient portions in operativeproximity to the side wall of said nozzle portion to be contacted bysaid side wall and deflected when said side wall is squeezed, therebyopening said valve, the designed amplitude of deflection of said nozzleportion being such as solely to open the valve, permitting thegravitational head of liq id in said container to discharge the drops,one at each opening of the valve.

2. Squeeze cap for dispensing liquids in drop by drop sequence from acontainer while the latter is so positioned as to maintain agravitational head of the contained liquid above the cap, the lattercomprising a base portion constructed to be coupled to the mouth of thecontainer and a tubular nozzle portion integral therewith having ayieldable resilient sidewall and being provided with an opening in itsouter end, a valve member carried wholly by said cap including a valvepositioned exteriorly of said opening, of larger size than said openingso as normally to seat against said nozzle portion on the exterior rimof said opening, a valve stem extending through said opening connectedto said valve, and resilient legs debouching from the inner end of saidvalve stem, having spaced foot portions anchored in said base and havingintermediate salient portions in operative proximity to the side wall ofsaid nozzle portion to be contacted by said side wall and deflected whensaid side wall is squeezed, thereby opening said valve, the designedamplitude of deflection of said nozzle portion being such as solely toopen said valve, permitting the gravitational head of liquid in saidcontainer to discharge the drops, one at each opening of the valve, saidvalve and the rim of the opening upon which it is seated being so shapedand sized as to detain a drop between them through surface tension untildisplaced by a succeeding drop.

3. Squeeze cap as claimed in claim 1, said nozzle portion being formedabout said opening with a flared valve seat, said valve being spherical,said valve seat and valve being correlated in shape and size so as tomaintain a drop between them through surface tension until displaced bya succeeding drop.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,911,284 Nichols May 30, 1933 2,596,592 Parker May 13, 1952 2,641,376Parziale et a1 June 9, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 15,893 Great Britain July18, 1904

1. SQUEEZE CAP FOR DISPENSING LIQUIDS IN DROP BY DROP SEQUEEZE FROM ACONTAINER WHILE THE LATTER IS SO POSITIONED AS TO MAINTAIN AGRAVITATIONAL HEAD OF THE CONTAINED LIQUID ABOVE THE CAP, THE LATTERCOMPRISING A BASE PORTION CONSTRUCTED TO BE COUPLED TO THE MOUTH OF THECONTAINER, AND A TUBULAR NOZZLE PORTION INTEGRAL THEREWITH HAVING ANINWARDLY YIELDABLE RESILIENT SIDE WALL AND PROVIDED WITH AN OPENING INITS OUTER END, A VALVE MEMBER WHOLLY CARRIED BY SAID CAP INCLUDING AVALVE POSITIONED EXTERIORLY OF SAID OPENING, OF LARGER SIZE THAN SAIDOPENING SO AS NORMALLY TO SEAT AGAINST SAID NOZZLE PORTION ON THEEXTERIOR RIM OF SAID OPENING, A VALVE STEM EXTENDING THROUGH SAIDOPENING CONNECTED TO SAID VALVE, AND RESILIENT LEGS DEBOUCHING FROM THEINNER END OF SAID VALVE STEM, HAVING SPACED FOOT PORTIONS ANCHORED INSAID BASE AND HAVING INTERMEDIATE SALIENT PORTIONS IN OPERATIVEPROXIMITY TO THE SIDE WALL OF SAID NOZZLE PORTION TO BE CONTACTED BYSAID SIDE WALL AND DEFLECTED WHEN SAID SIDE WALL IS SQUEEZED, THEREBYOPENING SAID VALVE, THE DESIGNED AMPLITUDE OF DEFLECTION OF SAID NOZZLEPORTION BEING SUCH AS SOLELY TO OPEN THE VALVE, PERMITTING THEGRAVITATIONAL HEAD OF LIQUID IN SAID CONTAINER TO DISCHARGE THE DROPS,ONE AT EACH OPENING OF THE VALVE.